goretex jacket problem

"orange" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have recently dug out my old goretex jacket which I hadn't been able
to wear for some years due to having outgrown it. I wore it on a walk
above the cloud line, but not raining, and got extremely wet
underneath it - lots of condensation. My walking partner was wearing
some kind of material that looked like a flexible pvc but he wasn't
wet at all.

I would appreciate any suggestions as to whether it is worth
attempting to save this coat or just chuck it away. It was never
waterproof from new, though in the year I bought it the sun always
shined when I went walking, and it took until after the warranty
period before I found out that it didn't work.

The jacket is in excellent condition, apart from a couple of paint
stains in non critical areas, though the zip will need replacing soon.
Can this be done by a local seamstress (if they are still called that)
or should it be sent off to a specialist.

I have talked to a number of people about goretex and everyone has a
different theory about it. Many say it doesn't work, others offer
advice for its care but this can be either vague or contradictory.
Googling just now shows similar conflicting opinions but I notice that
most of the discussions were in the last century.

Is there now a definitive position on looking after goretex? Any help
would be appeciated, as a coat which makes me wet is worthless, but I
don't want to replace it with another that is no better if I am not
looking after it properly.

Many thanks

As I understand it, Goretex actually only works as advertised in quite a
narrow band of climatic conditions - there must be a reasonable temperature
differential between the inside and the outside in order for the water
vapour to be pushed through the membrane - the outer fabric must be clean
with the pores unblocked and, if it's raining then the outer shell must be
capable of beading water, in otherwords the outer shell must not get
saturated.
Other than all that, Goretex is no better or worse at reducing condensation
than most other waterproof materials...

orange said:

I have recently dug out my old goretex jacket which I hadn't been able
to wear for some years due to having outgrown it. I wore it on a walk
above the cloud line, but not raining, and got extremely wet
underneath it - lots of condensation. My walking partner was wearing
some kind of material that looked like a flexible pvc but he wasn't
wet at all.

I would appreciate any suggestions as to whether it is worth
attempting to save this coat or just chuck it away. It was never
waterproof from new, though in the year I bought it the sun always
shined when I went walking, and it took until after the warranty
period before I found out that it didn't work.

The jacket is in excellent condition, apart from a couple of paint
stains in non critical areas, though the zip will need replacing soon.
Can this be done by a local seamstress (if they are still called that)
or should it be sent off to a specialist.

I have talked to a number of people about goretex and everyone has a
different theory about it. Many say it doesn't work, others offer
advice for its care but this can be either vague or contradictory.
Googling just now shows similar conflicting opinions but I notice that
most of the discussions were in the last century.

Is there now a definitive position on looking after goretex? Any help
would be appeciated, as a coat which makes me wet is worthless, but I
don't want to replace it with another that is no better if I am not
looking after it properly.

Many thanks

Have you tried washing it and re-coating the outside with the
appropriate Nikwax treatment? You may find that if it has never been
washed the Gortex membrane is no longer working properly and is not
breathing as it should, allowing condensation on the inside.

Check the washing instructions, look up the right treatment for it
(http://www.nikwax.co.uk/en-gb/index.php), and see what happens...

As for replacing the zip... You really want a seamtress/tailor
experienced with dealing with that type of fabric and construction, but
it should be perfectly possible to replace the zip. The only difficulty
may be re-taping seams: this is never fully successful in home
construction as there is no home-use equipment built for this
application, and doing it with mere hand pressure and a hot iron is not
as effective as the factory process. The only person I know who does
this sort of thing is in the USA.

I made a 3 layer Gortex fabric jacket and trousers for my son when he
was little: they remained waterproof and breathable throughout their
life with us, despite several coatings of mud and other glour, and
subsequent washings. I sealed the seams rather than taping them.

--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

In article <[email hidden]>,
orange <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

I have recently dug out my old goretex jacket which I hadn't been able
to wear for some years due to having outgrown it. I wore it on a walk
above the cloud line, but not raining, and got extremely wet
underneath it - lots of condensation. My walking partner was wearing
some kind of material that looked like a flexible pvc but he wasn't
wet at all.

There are lots of variables that make a straight comparison very
difficult or plain irrelevant.

For instance you could have been perspiring more than your partner (due
to fitness / exertion or having too much on under the jacket), your
partner could have been ventilating more with zips, loose cuffs / hem.

Your partner's jacket could be significantly more breathable than yours.
The newer flavours or gore-tex and event are more breathable. Or were
they wearing a windproof / showerproof jacket which would be even more
breathable still.

Generally I try to avoid wearing my waterproof shell unless it is
raining. If I want to keep the wind off I'll use a pertex shell from the
like of Montane. Light weight and a good deal more breathable than any
of the waterproof fabrics. The stop the wind and shake off a fair bit of
water. If it gets bad I just slip the waterproof over the top. When the
rain stops it comes off again.

Quoted message said:

I would appreciate any suggestions as to whether it is worth
attempting to save this coat or just chuck it away.

I would probably hang onto it.

Quoted message said:

The jacket is in excellent condition, apart from a couple of paint
stains in non critical areas, though the zip will need replacing soon.
Can this be done by a local seamstress (if they are still called that)
or should it be sent off to a specialist.

On the assumption that the zip is covered by a storm flap I see no
reason why it can't be replaced by anybody handy with a sewing machine.
If you need a source for the zip try:

http://www.profabrics.co.uk/

Quoted message said:

I have talked to a number of people about goretex and everyone has a
different theory about it. Many say it doesn't work, others offer
advice for its care but this can be either vague or contradictory.
Googling just now shows similar conflicting opinions but I notice that
most of the discussions were in the last century.

Is there now a definitive position on looking after goretex?

There is:

http://www.gore-tex.co.uk/

and click on the care centre link.

--

Dominic Sexton

Thank you for all of the replies. I have ordered Nik Wax Tech Wash and
TX direct and made an enquiry about a zip from Profabrics.

Fingers crossed, my coat will soon be usable again.